Håkansson Use of waste ash - effects of the law

This study is a comparison of Swedish and Danish legislation on recycling of MSWI (Municipal Solid Waste Incineration) residues for construction purposes. The aim has been to look for differences and figure out whether these could be a reason for the minor use of MSWI ashes in Sweden compared to Denmark. To do this, text analysis has been performed on Swedish and Danish environmental legislation with focus on recycling of incineration ashes for constructions. In Denmark, use of incineration ashes was very common and large amounts were recycled during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The new legislation, more similar to the Swedish in terms of an increased need for assessments along with tightened limits for hazardous substances, has diminished the use. This shows that changes in Danish legislation towards the Swedish complicate the use of incineration ashes. Thereby the minor use of ashes from MSWI in Sweden could, at least partially, be explained by differences in Danish and Swedish legislation.